


The Demon's Angel

by Scarlet_Streak



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Gabe Is A Jerk, Humor, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Insert, Reposted Since Archive Ate The Original, Romance, SEP, SEP Gabriel, Slow Burn, Soldier: 24, reader is a nurse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 21:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14985728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Streak/pseuds/Scarlet_Streak
Summary: (Y/N) is a nurse recruited to work in the Soldier Enhancement Program. However, her patient really doesn't want to make her job easy. But, as time goes on, will she find that there's more to Soldier: 24 than his tough exterior





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any construct criticism or ideas for the story (or you just want to give me encouragement), let me know in a comment!

(Y/N) is one of only a hundred nurses selected to assist in the U.S. government’s Soldier Enhancement Program. She received this unique opportunity because of her outstanding work and dedication, and was incredibly happy to accept it. However, as she arrives for what will be her first day of work, (Y/N) is still entirely uncertain of what her job will actually be. She hopes that someone will be able to clear it up for her, but all hopes of that are dashed as she signs in and is handed nothing but a room number and a mostly empty file folder marked “Soldier: 24”. The papers inside are only slightly more helpful, revealing (Y/N)’s assigned patient to be a 24 year old male with a height of 73 inches, a weight of 171 pounds, and the given name of Gabriel Reyes. The next page, a chart with places to document things like temperature and blood pressure, suggests that she’ll be giving him a routine medical exam today. (Y/N) can handle that. She asks for directions to the room she was given and then makes her way over, hoping that her patient hasn’t been waiting for too long. (Y/N) opens the door to find a handsome young man who she assumes is Gabriel Reyes sitting on a neatly made hospital bed with an irritable expression on his face and his arms crossed. He has thick dark brown hair cut close on the sides and a matching neat goatee. His skin is a light, warm brown color, and his eyes are a dark hazel. (Y/N) holds out a hand for him to shake. “Hello, Soldier: 24. I’m (Y/N) (L/N), the nurse assigned to you—”

“Look,” he cuts her off, “I’m not interested in the pleasantries, doc.”

“I’m not a doctor, sir.” Gabriel obviously decides to ignore her, continuing, “Just check everything and tell them that I’m in good shape and you recommend I begin prep for experimentation.”

(Y/N) raises an eyebrow. “You seem very certain about this.”

He nods decisively. “Of course I am. I’ve waited long enough for it.” With that, (Y/N) begins the examination and finds that he is indeed in excellent health. She doesn’t know what else she expected from a selective, high-security government program. “Well, everything seems to be in order.”

“Like I said it would be.” She ignores his smug tone and satisfied expression in favor of continuing her assessment. “And, excluding the few behavioral issues of course, I believe you are fully prepared for the Soldier Enhancement Program.”

“About damn time.” She gives him a dry look. “Like I said: behavioral issues. I’ll see you tomorrow, Soldier: 24.”

Gabriel apparently elects to ignore her farewell, instead laying back on his bed and staring at the ceiling. (Y/N) leaves the room, happy to be done dealing with the man, even if it’s only for the rest of the day. She turns in her paperwork and recommendation, then returns to her apartment, still having no answers to what her new job really is.

Gabriel’s paperwork must have been acceptable, because the next few days are spent preparing him for the next stages of the program. (Y/N) isn’t involved with most of it, leaving her daily tasks limited to checking his temperature and pulse, but on the last day a vial of Gabriel’s blood is requested to ensure that the doctors pick compatible procedures for him. As (Y/N) swabs the inside of his arm and prepares the needle, she decides to try small talk once again. “Today’s the day, huh?” No response. “How do you feel about it?”

“I feel fine. How else should I feel?” She checks the vein that she will be drawing the blood from again before responding, “I think most people would be nervous about going into some experimental super soldier program.”

“Well, I’m not most people, am I, doc?” She rolls her eyes as she inserts the needle into the vein and blood begins to flow through the tube into the vial. “I’ve told you before that I’m not a doctor.”

“Oh, I remember. I just like irritating you.” (Y/N) would have slapped his arm if he didn’t currently have a needle in it. Being as it is, she settles for an indignant huff, which draws a short bark of amusement from him. As she fills and packs the last of the vials, (Y/N) remembers the last question on her list of tasks for the day. Even though she’s fairly certain what the answer will be, (Y/N) decides to ask it anyway. “So, we’ve already established that you start treatments tomorrow. The doctors wanted me to ask if you still want me to come in and check on you tomorrow.”

“Yes.” She blinks, pausing halfway through securing a gauze over the vein where she drew blood. “Really?”

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Sure, why not?” (Y/N) raises an eyebrow. “Are you saying that just because you don’t want me to get the day off? They have stuff for me to do, so I have to be here anyway.”

Gabriel’s tone is gruff, and he doesn’t look at her as he talks. “That’s partially it, but no. I’ve just heard that the side effects can be… uncomfortable. Might be nice to see a friendly face after all that.” (Y/N) doesn’t believe what she’s hearing. “So you are scared!”

“No!” His defensive response is accompanied by a scowl. “Why would I be scared? I’ve been preparing for this for months! I was just saying—” She puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, Gabriel, I was just teasing. I’ll come tomorrow to check on you after the first round of experiments is through.”

He lets out a deep breath, and she feels his shoulders relax. “Thanks, (Y/N).” She realizes exactly how shaken he is at that moment; Gabriel never uses her name. It’s always “doc” or “ma’am”. “No problem, Gabriel. You are my patient, after all.”

Gabriel nods, leaning back against his pillow. “See you tomorrow then, doc.” There it is. “I’ll see you then, Soldier: 24.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy these chapters the second time around! As always, give me any constructive criticism, ideas, or encouragement in the comments!

When she goes home that night, (Y/N) finds herself worrying about Gabriel and wishing that she hadn’t teased him about the testing, and, despite her best efforts, she’s unable to get him off her mind. When the next day finally arrives, she can’t seem to get to work fast enough. However, she’s stopped by a doctor at Gabriel’s door. “Soldier: 24 showed extremely adverse reactions to his exposure. The procedures were completed, but we will not allow visitors today.” A mixture of disappointment, fear, and anger churns in her stomach, but (Y/N) manages a pleasant, “That’s alright! I’ll try again tomorrow.”

She goes about what little work they have for her, then goes back home, still thinking about Gabriel and hoping that tomorrow will be different. However, her anger begins to outweigh her disappointment when she is continually turned away for the next four days. Finally something in her snaps, and she stares the doctor defiantly in the eyes. “No.” He raises an eyebrow skeptically. “No what?”

“No, you will be allowing a visitor today. Gab— Soldier: 24 requested I visit him after the procedures, and I intend to do that. He is my patient, and I won’t let him down.” The doctor looks (Y/N) up and down as she stands firm, then steps aside. “Fine, but remember that I warned you.”

She ignores his words, opening the door and letting it slam behind her. Gabriel is, as expected, in his hospital bed, with the sheets pulled up over him. His skin is a ghostly and pale, a far cry from his usual healthy, tanned complexion, his hair is damp from sweat and sticks to his forehead, and his expression is one of complete anguish, with his eyes closed tightly as he tosses and turns. (Y/N) runs to his side. “Gabe?” His only response is a quiet groan. She places a hand on his forehead, his skin wet to the touch and dangerously feverous. “Gabriel.” Another groan. (Y/N) walks to the bathroom and grabs a washcloth from a drawer, dampening it before folding it and returning to the bed to place it on his forehead, and then drags a chair over so she can sit next to the bed. The sudden change in temperature from the damp cloth finally gets him to open his eyes and look at her, but (Y/N) can tell from their unfocused, glazed over appearance that his isn’t all there. “Gabriel, can you hear me?” He nods slowly, closing his eyes against. “Gabe, come on. Look at me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“No quiero.” Spanish. Great. (Y/N) hasn’t had to speak Spanish since language classes in college. She smooths Gabriel’s hair out of his face, unsure of what else to do. (Y/N) trails her hand down from his hair to rest against his cheek, and he turns into her touch. “What am I going to do with you, Gabriel?”

She shakes her head, starting to pull away her hand when her wrist is suddenly caught in a loose grip, and Gabe’s eyes fly open, panic on his face. “Don’t go!” (Y/N) tries to calm him down, putting her free hand over the one on her wrist. “Gabriel, I’m not going anywhere. It’s ok.”

His grip goes slack, and his eyes unfocus again. “Don’t wanna be alone…” (Y/N) keeps ahold of his much larger hand, letting both of their hands rest on the sheets as she twines his fingers with hers. This fear and need for contact is such a departure from his normal gruff, brash attitude, but she guesses that it’s just the fever talking. They stay like that for a while, his grip on her tightening to the point of pain when she tries to go replace his washcloth. “Gabe, I’ll be right back, I swear. I just want to go get another cloth.”

“No.” (Y/N) shakes her head, and carefully pries her hand away from his death grip. On her way to the bathroom, she glances at the clock, and realizes she was supposed to go home an hour ago. She returns to the bedside with the damp cloth, placing it on his forehead again before hesitantly saying, “Gabriel, I’m going to have to go now. They won’t let me stay overnight.”

He looks up at her with an expression very similar to that of a sad puppy, and she has to remind herself that this is the same annoying Gabriel Reyes who’s been giving her a hard time since she started working here. “You’ll come back?” (Y/N) nods. “Of course I will. Now, get some sleep.”

She turns to leave, and feels a familiar grip on her wrist. “Gabriel?”

“No quiero estar sola.” The pleading words are muttered under his breath, but she still catches them. “I promise I’ll be back, Gabriel, but I really need to go now.”

(Y/N) leans down hesitantly, pushes the washcloth off, and presses a kiss to his still warm forehead, replacing the cloth when she’s done. “Good night, Gabe.” There’s no response besides a loosening of the grip on her wrist, just enough for her to get away. With one last look toward the bed, (Y/N) leaves the room and starts the long trip back home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3rd chapter, take two! As always, please send me any constructive criticism, ideas, or encouragement in the comments!
> 
> I'll still be continuing this story with the special Author's note tomorrow!

(Y/N) repeats this cycle of visits for the next few days, just sitting with Gabriel to keep him company until he recovers. When she enters one day, however, she’s greeted with a tired but familiar, “Hey, doc.” (Y/N) doesn’t even stop to think before she runs to Gabriel, leaning over the bed to throw her arms around him in a hug. “Hey, watch it! I just finished coming back from the dead, and you’re going to send me back if you startle me like that again.” Despite his words, she feels him hesitantly return the gesture. When (Y/N) pulls away, she crosses her arms and glares at him. “You scared me half to death, Reyes.”

He shrugs. “That wasn’t my intention, believe me.” She lets go of him, placing her hands on her hips. “That’s all you have to say? They wouldn’t let me in here for days, and, when I finally got past the doctor, here you were looking like death and running the highest fever I’ve ever seen, and— Gabe are you alright?”

The young man has paled visible at her last words. “You actually visited me while I was… sick?” She nods. “Every day for about a week. Do you not remember?” The normal color returns to his face, along with what she could almost mistake for a blush. “Bits and pieces. Did I say anything?”

“Nothing conversational. You switched between English and Spanish.” He relaxes slightly. “Did I do anything?”

(Y/N) shrugs. “Nothing you should be overly embarrassed about. You were sick and delirious. I didn’t take anything seriously. Is there something in particular you remembered?”

“No!” His response is a little too quick. “Like I said, bits and pieces. Didn’t even know it was you who visited.” (Y/N) is a little disappointed to hear that, but brushes it off. “I should check your vitals. They want to send you in for your second round as soon as you’re fully recovered.”

Gabriel makes a face. “Second round. Right.” (Y/N) goes about the routine checkup, all vitals coming back normal until she reaches temperature. “100.5, which means you’re still running a small fever.”

“I don’t have a fever, doc.” 

She lets the nickname slide this time in favor of turning the thermometer so he can see the display. “Technology disagrees, Gabe. Besides,” (Y/N) reaches out, resting her palm first against his forehead and then his cheek,“you feel warm too.” Gabriel huffs, rolling his eyes, but (Y/N) notices that he leans into her touch. He must have realized what he did, because he hastily blurts out, “Your skin feels cool.”

(Y/N) raises an eyebrow. “Really? Do you want me to get you a wet washcloth? It’ll probably work better than my hand.”

“This is fine.” Awkward silence hangs in the air for a moment as they sit, neither of them wanting to make eye contact with the other. (Y/N) finally withdraws her hand. “I should probably finish the exam.”

“Yeah. Right. Exam.” She swears that she almost sees a blush on his cheeks, but she brushes it off as a side effect of the fever, continuing the check up. “Alright, everything else seems to be fine. I’ll come back tomorrow to see if the fever’s gone down and to collect the blood samples that the doctors requested before your second round.”

(Y/N) smooths down his sheets and starts to towards the door. “Hey, doc.” She looks back towards the young man. “Yes, Gabe?”

“Thank you. For visiting, I mean.” She can tell that he’s doing his best to maintain eye contact as what is unmistakably a blush spreads across his face. “I know I haven’t been the easiest patient to deal with. Hell, I’m not even in the neighborhood of easy.” His gauche attempt at gratitude catches her off guard with its sincerity. “You’re welcome, Gabe. It’s my job to keep an eye on you, but I do appreciate your acknowledgment of how difficult you can be.”

(Y/N)’s last statement draws a wry smile from him. “Can’t make your job too easy.” She returns his smile, then begins walking to the door again. “Well, if that’s all you wanted to say—”

“Wait!” The familiar plea stops her again in her tracks, and (Y/N) hears Gabe take a deep breath. “Listen, I know I’ve been taking up a lot of your time lately, so I was thinking maybe I could take you to dinner. As a thank you.” (Y/N) smiles at him skeptically. “Is this a gesture of gratitude for all my time, or pity that I had nothing better to do than sit in here for the past few days?”

He gives her an uncharacteristically nervous grin, running his fingers through his hair. “Can’t it be both?” She tilts her head in consideration. “And when would you be taking me to dinner, exactly? If I’ve read your schedule right, you have 4 more stages of procedures to go through before you even begin SEP training.”

Gabriel glares at her. “Damn it, (Y/N), give a guy a break.” She laughs, walking back to the bed. “Sorry, Gabe. It’s fine, really. I’m just doing my job! You don’t need to do anything special.”

“But what if I want to do something special?” This question catches (Y/N) off guard. “What do you mean?”

He growls, looking up at the ceiling. “I honestly can’t tell you, doc. Are you always this difficult?”

“I have been learning from the best.” He gives her a dry look, and (Y/N) feels a small twinge of guilt. Her normally surly patient is making an effort. The least she could do is encourage the good behavior. “Ok, let’s make a deal. You survive the rest of the procedures, and I’ll let you take me to dinner.” He snorts. “You could’ve just said yes, doc.”

“Still not a doctor.” (Y/N) ruffles his hair, earning her an indignant look and a slap on the hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Gabriel.” He sighs. “See you, doc.”

Later that night, (Y/N) thinks about her conversation with Gabe. Everything about it was out of character for him, from his nervous attitude to the attempts at gratitude. She decides that she likes this new side of him. (Y/N) may not be looking forward to seeing him after each procedure, but she finds herself very excited for that dinner.


	4. Author’s Note

Ok, so now that the main intro to the story is done, I have a few options on how to proceed! I could decide on my own, but I thought it would be more fun to give my readers the options and let you all have a bit of a say:

1\. Chapter 2 from Gabriel’s perspective   
2\. The dinner date  
3\. Gabriel getting used to his enhancements  
4\. Gabriel introducing the reader to Jack Morrison 

My super secret 5th option is to put all of this on hold and write one of these for Jack, and you can suggest something besides these five in the comments. So, let me know what you all want to see!


End file.
